After The Wreckage
by deejaymcknight
Summary: "She remembered looking up at the gigantic window behind where the council would usually be and seeing a real life nightmare." ME1 one-shot. FemShep/Ashley.


**Written in an hour, on an ipod touch, at 3 am. Just had to empty space for the updates coming soon.**

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><p>"Go!" she yelled as she tried to move her feet from their planted position. But nothing happened. And then...<p>

Silence. Deafening, killer silence. And darkness. That's what surrounded her. Along with a disgusting burning smell that seemed to be coming from every direction of the darkness. She remembered looking up at the gigantic window behind where the council would usually be and seeing a real life nightmare. Sovereign was falling, quite literally on top of her. The sound of the glass breaking was the last thing she heard until now. Was she dead? No, she was hurting, you don't hurt after you die, do you? When she tried to shift her body around her knee came into contact with what both sounded like and felt like metal. It woke up her senses, as if someone had pinched her from a dream state. The burning smell was stronger but she heard sounds now. Fire, there was definite fire in her near vicinity. The metallic creaks of settling wreckage made her uncomfortable each time she heard the quiet groan and whines that were emitted.

It was still dark though, and judging by the heat so close to her face, sitting up wouldn't be an option. Was she trapped here until someone found her or could she just yell until they heard her? When she tried she found to her dismay that her voice was nothing more than a shell of it's usual commanding tone. Then the reminder of screaming hit her. Whether it was her or her team she couldn't be sure but there _was_ screaming. Her team, shit; what had happened to them? She had brought Ashley and Garrus with her to Ilos, which led them to the Citadel. Last time she had laid eyes on the two they had just brought down the reanimated corpse of Saren. Was that the last time she would see them again? Tired faces, wounded bodies and an unnatural rush of adrenaline coursing through their veins?

Garrus, the former c-sec Turian with a scoped shot that nearly rivaled her. Always posted next to the beloved (and hated, depending on who you spoke to) Mako. The one who she could go to for a random conversation or a drinking partner when she really needed someone with as much snarkyness as she did to throw her ass back in line. The one who helped her fight past the death of their crew mate and encouraged her to toss the rule book when it came to the other.

Ashley Williams. Yes, of _that _Williams family. A marine in every definition of the word, carrying the burden of a battle long before her time. The woman who had gotten stuck on enough shit missions that most would quit. But not Ash, that word wasn't in her vast vocabulary. The first and only person to ever reach the Executive turned Commanding Officer's heart with poetry from Earth authors hundreds of years old. The two didn't see eye to eye at first, Shepard dealing with the death of Jenkins on her hands while Ashley reeled from the loss of her entire squad. Then, out of nowhere they clicked. And it went from friendship to a special connection in a matter of weeks. They knew time wasn't on their side, not with this mission being as important as it was. With the loss of Kaidan weighing on both of them they gave into what was an obvious feeling.

Their night together ran rapidly through Shepard's mind as she tried with all of her might to push the metal away from her. At the base of her feet she heard something crash, nearly jumping out of her skin from it. More weight on top of her which meant she had even less time before it all came crashing down and her nowhere near complete life would be over. All those years of training, honing her biotics to the level they were now for what? To die here? She knew this battle was nowhere near over yet. The reapers were coming and they'd be pissed. The galaxy was in danger and no one knew when this danger would occur. She couldn't go out like this; she needed to be there to lead them into battle. To finish what she had started.

Trying her best she attempted the flair up her biotics but a shrill sound echoed in her ears to warn of a danger to her nodes. She had relied heavily on them through the fight and now at the most inopportune time they decided they needed a rest. As the alarm went silent she tried using her own strength but she was just one woman, these hunks of fallen metal would be going nowhere.

In the distance she heard a voice, she didn't know it but they mentioned Anderson. Which meant he was alive and looking for the squad. The words were hard to make out but she deciphered the sentence after a bit of thinking. The person whom the voice belong to had found her team. And they were okay. A few moments later she heard Anderson speak up asking where she was. When he was given no answer his tone fell as be repeated the question. At that time she heard something else, the distinct sound of a sob. "Ash." she whispered hoarsely to herself. The sound broke her heart and the pain only continued when she heard the voice of her former commanding officer subdued and sad.

Anderson had his eye on her since her last tour had been coming to an end. When the Alliance had begun the Normandy project, he recruited her as his XO in no time. Over the year she was there before this all started the two had become closer than they had ever been. He had known her as a child as did most of the big names in the brass. Her mother was Hannah Shepard; of course they'd know her. But Anderson, he had gone from her mother's friend to a friend of her own. And now here he was, more or less mourning her with the girl she truly expected to spend forever with.

Tightening her jaw she pushed her biotics to flair and fire up, moving the metal out of her way before dropping her arms down tiredly. As if in autopilot she was on her feet and leaping over obstacles until she felt herself climbing the largest and final piece in her way.

"Shepard, you tough son of a bitch." Garrus barked out with a laugh as he neared her, aiding her off of the metal and allowing her to more or less use him as a crutch.

"You're not getting rid of me that easily Vakarian." she said with a weak smirk as she caught Anderson's eyes "Sir." She regarded with a nod in his direction as she tried her best to stand at attention.

"At ease Dianna. Glad you made it soldier. Your mother would have had my ass if this had turned out differently." The older man chuckled before excusing himself to assess the damage.

The final greeting she was waiting for took a bit. Ashley stood ten feet away, mouth slightly ajar and eyes brimming. "Di." She spoke so softly it was hard to hear but before anyone could say anything to follow that she had crossed the gap and had her arms around Shepard, holding the injured woman close to her. "Never, ever fucking scare me like that again." she nearly growled, earning a laugh from the commander.

"Wouldn't dream of it babe." was her response.

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><p><strong>Four Years Later<strong>

Commander Dianna Shepard laughed bitterly to herself with a shake of her head as she stood in the very room she had nearly died in. Had she known that not a month later, she'd actually die? Nope. Yet she was brought back to life, saved the galaxy...again, lost a love, gained a new one and was now being brought up on heavy charges. Life really played tricks sometimes.

So here she stood, her dress blues itching her skin as Miranda stood beside her, this time as her XO to the world but in her heart as her support beam. Her crew was behind her, all of them including the original Normandy squad. The council slowly read off what she was being charged with and they were bringing everything up. This was bad for her, very bad. Yet she stood stoic, chin high and eyes focused on that same damn window. The space around the Presidium was quiet as usual, ships passing along the arms instead of the main tower. Nothing was out of the ordinary. Until that very moment.

No.

Not again.

Please.

But it was true. It was happening. She watched the figure pass the arms and lead directly towards them. No one noticed, no one seemed to care. And she couldn't move again. So she yelled the only thing that would come.

"Go!"

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><p>This just came to me and I had to write it.<p>

More one-shots and chapter story updates soon.


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